DALLAS, Texas – June 29, 2021 – An Illinois Federal Court approved a class-wide settlement in connection with the much-publicized HIMSS Tradeshow cancelation litigation arising out of the COVID-19 pandemic. The HIMSS Global Health Conference & Exhibition, set to be held in March 2020, was canceled days before the event, as the industry organization cited concerns relating to the then-surging coronavirus pandemic.
A dispute arose in connection with the scope and applicability of a force majeure clause in the HIMSS tradeshow contract. Peyton J. Healey, a partner at Hedrick Kring Bailey PLLC, filed a class action lawsuit in June 2020 to recover fees and payments made by the class members to HIMSS.
The suit was led by HatchMed Corp., a hardware and software healthcare technology company specializing in the use of iPads in hospitals. HatchMed said it paid more than $11,000 in November 2019 to reserve floor space to exhibit its products during the 2020 conference, according to the company’s suit. Other businesses looking to participate in the five-day show executed similar contracts, it claimed.
The June 24th Court Order approved a class action settlement providing for recovery that some estimate to be at least $8.4 million in value, including the direct payment of $2.8 million in cash.
“We’ve always found the HIMSS tradeshow to be a great value to the industry. It was a hard decision to pursue the case, but we wanted to make sure the exhibitors were all treated fairly. It’s been a long road, but I hope the class members are happy with the result.” Brian Hatch, CEO of HatchMed Corp. explained.
“We think that we’ve obtained a good result for the class that really does get them a significant benefit that will be useful almost immediately,” Healey said.
The court-approved resolution provided for two recovery options. The first required the payment of $2.8 million to a cash fund plus the provision of credits for use at the HIMSS21 and HIMSS22 tradeshows. The second provided for using 50% of the fees from HIMSS20 toward HIMSS21 and 10% toward HIMSS22.
The HIMSS21 tradeshow is currently set for August 9-13 and will take place in Las Vegas, Nevada.
For more information on the HatchMed case or Hedrick Kring Bailey PLLC, please contact Peyton Healey at peyton@hedrickkring.com.
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